BANGKOK: At least 13 people were killed on Sunday when a boat crowded with passengers sank on Thailand’s Chao Phraya river after hitting a bridge, an emergency response official said.
The accident happened near the ancient city of Ayutthaya, a popular tourist attraction, although no foreigners were believed to be among the dead.
Video footage posted by Khaosod TV showed desperate scenes as rescue workers scrambled to reach the stricken two-floor vessel, its lower deck submerged under water.
Rescuers threw ropes to help people swim to land as others gave CPR to unconscious victims on the banks of the river.
“There are 13 confirmed dead and 33 injured so far,” said Udomsak Khaonoona, disaster prevention chief for the city which is 80 km north of Bangkok.
“The boat tried to avoid another vessel and crashed into the concrete column of a bridge,” he told AFP, adding that the passengers were local.
Around 100 passengers were believed to be on board the vessel, with four currently unaccounted for, Udomsak said.
Despite its wealth compared to regional neighbors and huge tourism sector, accidents are common on Thailand’s public transport network. Safety regulations are often weakly enforced.
The country has one of the world’s worst road traffic death rates, and crashes of speedboats operating between the popular southern tourist islands are also common.
The Chao Phraya, the main river that flows through Bangkok, is a key commuting artery, filled with often packed boats plying the waterways at breakneck speed.
Thailand’s reputation as the “Land of Smiles” has suffered in recent years amid frequent deadly bus and boat accidents, crimes against foreigners and political unrest.
But visitors keep coming.
A record high of nearly 30 million traveled to the kingdom in 2015, a number boosted by a surge in mainland Chinese tourists, with some 33 million expected this year.
The junta government this week said they expected tourism to account for as much as 17 percent of GDP this year.
13 dead in Thai river boat collision
13 dead in Thai river boat collision
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
